No. 5 Princeton men’s lacrosse (1–0 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) beat No. 10 Penn State (2–1 overall, 0–0 Big Ten) in a thrilling 11–10 overtime victory to kick off the season.
Star senior attackman Coulter Mackesy led the team with a dominant performance, scoring five goals and placing himself in the fourth all-time spot for goals scored at Princeton with 128. Mackesy should continue to climb through the record books this season as he looks to catch Mike MacDonald ’15 (132), Chris Massey ’98 (146), and Jesse Hubbard ’98 (163).
“At the end of the day, I want to be remembered as a good teammate and a good leader,” Mackesy wrote to The Daily Princetonian after the game. “I think milestones are a healthy reminder that I need to continue pushing myself and my teammates to be the best we can be everyday. My goal is to win a national championship with this team and nothing more.”
In addition to Mackesy, junior goalie Ryan Croddick and sophomore attackman Colin Burns started their seasons well. Although it was Croddick’s first career start, the junior looked calm and collected in front of the net as he racked up 21 saves, a Princeton record for a goalie in his first start. Burns scored four goals on the day, including the overtime winner.
The game started off great for the Tigers. After securing the opening faceoff, junior attackman Chad Palumbo found Burns open, who then whipped a shot past Penn State’s goalie for the first goal of the season.
Throughout the rest of the first quarter, it was all Burns and Mackesy, with the pair scoring three more times to put Princeton ahead 4–3.
To start the second, Princeton’s defense came out looking strong. In what became a common theme on the day, impressive holds on defense translated into scores for the offense — including sophomore midfielder Carson Krammer’s first career goal — with Croddick making an array of impressive saves throughout.
“The defense played fast and physical,” Head Coach Matt Madalon wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “They played picks well and made timely slides.”
With 6:51 to play in the first half, Croddick found sophomore short stick defensive midfielder Jackson Green for Green’s first career goal, making it 6–3. On top of that, Croddick picked up his first career assist on the play.
At halftime, Princeton led Penn State 8–6 following Mackesy’s four-goal half.
“As a group, we’ve seen the potential of this team since day one in the fall and my goal has been to instill the confidence and belief in every teammate that we can accomplish something very special this year,” Mackesy told the ‘Prince.’
In the second half, the Tigers’ fiery offense cooled off a bit, only scoring two more times in regulation. Despite the lack of offensive production, Princeton’s defense refused to be worn down, shutting out the explosive Nittany Lion offense in the third quarter.
Heading into the fourth, Princeton held a 9–6 lead. Unfortunately for the Orange and Black, two quick scores to start the quarter put Penn State within striking distance.
When asked about the second half slump, Madalon pointed towards sloppy plays.
“We need to be cleaner in the clearing game and we made a few bonehead plays,” he said. “PSU made us pay.”
While momentum had shifted away from the Tigers, Mackesy refused to let his team lose focus, ripping a low fastball into the net and putting Princeton up 10–8.
After two more Penn State goals, it was looking like the Nittany Lions might complete the comeback. However, after a couple of crucial stops from the defense down the stretch, Princeton was able to stop the onslaught and force overtime.
Princeton’s defense once again made a big stop, with Green forcing a turnover and sophomore defender Jack Stahl recovering the ground ball and clearing up the field for the offense.
From there, the Tigers moved the ball well before finding Burns for the game winner.
“All game, I was just trying to play off of guys as much as I could,” Burns told the ‘Prince’ postgame.
“I wasn’t sure if it went in because it was pretty quiet in their bubble,” Burns recounted to the ‘Prince.’ “I remember looking up at Coulter and seeing him run to me and that’s when I knew, so I ran immediately to our goalie Croddik. It was a special moment celebrating with my teammates, but we know we have a lot more in us, especially with a big week ahead.”
Princeton takes on No. 6 ranked Maryland (3–0 overall, 0–0 Big Ten) on Feb. 22 at home. The Terrapins ended the Tigers’ season last year with a 16–8 victory, so this game serves as an opportunity to end an eight-game losing streak to the program.
“We have a gauntlet of a schedule, which makes it really fun for us because every week is like playing an NCAA tournament game,” Burns explained. “I’m really excited about the group we have this year. I’m eager to keep getting after it with them in practice and on game days, and it starts with this upcoming week which is massive.”
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor and staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Annapolis, Md. and typically covers town and gown, facilities and housing, and health for News.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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